Pumping equipment for wells



Re. i6,o10

Mar. 3, 192s.

J. PENROD ET AL.

PUIvIPING EQUIPMENT FOR WELLS original.'Fi1ac1'wmf'-v 1o. 1920 2 sheets-'sheet z amo,

n I @ICM K Reissued Mar. 3, 1925.

PATENT QFFICE.

UNITED STATES J'OHN PENROD AND ROBERT D] THOMPSON, OF OKMULGEE, OKLAHOMA.

PUMPING EQUIPMENT non WELLS.

Original No. 1,413,130, dated April 18, 1922, Serial No. 423,082, filed November 10, 1920. Application for reissue led April 5,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that. we, JOHNPENROD and ROBERT D. TIroMrsoN, citizens of the United States, residing at Okmulgee, in the count-y of Okrnulgee, State of Oklahoma, have: invented certain new and usefulv Improvements in Pumping Equipments for Vells, of which the following is a specification.

Tell pumps of Awhich we knew Lbefore the time of our invention employed a plunger consisting of a liner. and upperA and lower valves more or less'permanently "located in the liner and when it bec-ame necessary to bring the valves tothe surface for repair the entire plunger including the liner would also have to beA elevated Vthrough the tubing.

It will be seenl that since the plunger must be small enough to be freely movable through the tubing its pumping capacity must be substantially less thanl the capacity of the tubing to conduct theiluid to the surface. 'i

Therefore, the plunger cannot pump as much or nearly as much fluid as the tubing is capable of conducting to the surface and this greatly retards' production.

Our invention overcomes this inefficiency by making it possible to separate the upper and lower valves from the plunger liner and bring these valves to the surface for repair without the liner, thereby making it possible tc employ much larger vvalves than those which are more or less permanently located in the liner and which can be removed only by removing the liner also.

Further, in accordance with this invention the plunger liner is permanently located below the tubing and is not movable through the tubing; thus the displace-ment of the liner is in no way controlled or limited by the diameter of the tubing and may be great enough to bring about the pumping of as much or nearly as much fluid as the tubing is capable ,of conducting to the surface. y

A further' object of the invention is t0 provide a novel clutching mechanism by means of which the valve carrying unit, as the same may be said to be, may be detachably connected tothe plunger liner. v

Another major obj ect istovpr'ovide means whereby astanding valve of a greater diameter than the dia-meter of the tubing may be employed so that a maximum quantitj of 1924, Serial No. 704,534.

fluid may be admitted to the working barrel on each up stroke of the. plunger.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the vfollowing description. y x

In the accompanying .drawing forming a part of this application and'in which like numerals are employed Ato designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure. l isa detail sectionalview through the upper portion of `the pumping mechanism, f s

Figure 2 is a Avertical sectional view through the .intermediate portion of the pumping mechanism, y

Figure '3 s a vertical sectional view through Lne lower portion of the mechanism and the upper portion of the fluid inlet,

Figure 4 a detail vert-ical sec-tional view through the lower portion. of the inlet,

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration lis shown a preferred embodiment of the invention,- the numeral 5 designates a tubing to Vwhich a reducer bushing 6 is connected and as'shown in Fig. l a shell 7 `is connected atV its upper end to the bushing. A v second bushing 8 is, as illustrated in Fig. 3, connected to the lower end of theshell A and 'supports what might be said to be'agas trapping tube 9, within which a perforated inletnipple 10 is arranged. As the-oil andgas inlet forms the subject mat-ter of United States patent No. l11,440,100 it needV notbeY further described ere. 1

Referring to the "Subj ect matter of this invention, it will be seen thatla working barrel l2 is connected at its lower end to the bushing 8 and itsurrounds a'standing valve 14. The standing valve 14 is of the ball type and is enclosed:v within .the usual cage.

The working barrell terminates a suit able distance :below the bushing 6 and receives the liner 17 of a plunger. The liner 17 has a substantial displacement land receives what might be said to be a valve carrying unit, the said valve carrying unit consisting of an upper valve member 20, and a lower valve member 22.` The cages of the upper and lower valve members are provided with packing elements 24 and 25, respec ively. "The acking elements 25 which ira: carried y the lower valve member 22 engage the bushing 26 threaded or otherwise secured -in the lower end of the liner 17. The packing element 24 which may be of any desired material is carried by t-he upper valve member and is adapted lto be engaged with an internal shoulder 2) on the head 3() of 'the plunger liner 17.

As stated, the valve carrying unit consists of upper and lover valve members and these valve members are connected by a rod 31 which is extended through the plunger liner. Of course, the rod 31 occupies only a small amount of space in the plungerI liner 17 and, therefore, does not in any way ob` struct the passage of fiuid through the liner. Also, it will be seen that the cages of the valve members 20 and 22 are slotted for the free passage of oil or otherfluid being pumped. .Fluid is admitted to the plunger by openings 76 in the lower portion of the liner.

The valve carrying unit is lowered down through the tubing and is clutched onto the liner for reciprocation therewith by means of a plurality of arms 35 pivoted intermediate their endsl as indicated at 36 tothe head 30 of the liner. Fig. 1 plainly illustrates that.y the 4arms are received in grooves 40 in the head 30 and that springs 41 are confined between the inner walls of the grooves 40 and theinner sides of the arms 35 and urge the upper portions of the arms outwardly while the lower portions of the arms are urged inwardly. The lower portions of the arms 35 have connection with dogs 42 which are urged by t-he springs 41 into an annular groove 43 inthe shank or attaching portion 45 of the valve carrying unit.

It is believed to be obvious that when the dogs 42 are positioned in the annular groove 43 the valve carrying unit is clutched to the liner so the liner is caused to reciprocate with the valve carrying unit. A sucker rod 46 is connected in any suit-able manner to the shank 45.

` In operation the valve carrying unit consisting of the upper and lower valve members and the rod 31 for connecting the same is lowered down through the tubing and may be sufficiently smaller than the tubing to pass freely through the saine. Vhen, the valve carrying unit enters the shell 7 the more or less tapered lower end 50 of the lower valve member 22 will possibly strike the inwardly beveled upper end 5l of the head 30 and the valve carrying unit will be guided into and through the head 30. The

valve carrying unit will continue its downward movement through the plunger liner until the packing elements 24 and 25 are firmly seated and the dogs 42 are received in theannular groove 43 whereby the valve carrying unit is securely clutched onto the liner. The sucker rod is now givenA its normal stroke and due to the extremely large displacement of the liner 17 the quantity of fluid pumped will approach the capacity of the tubing to convey the fluid to the surface.

Particular attention is directed to the fact that the plunger liner 17 at no time moves through the tubing and consequently is not in any way limited in diameter vby the tubing.

In the normal operation of the pump the plunger liner remains connected to the valve carrying unit and if it is desired to withdraw the valve carrying unit for repair, the normal, upward stroke of the sucker rod is exceeded so that the rounded upper ends of the arms 35 are engaged with the beveled lower surface of the bushing (i whereupon the arms are swung' on their pivots 36 for releasing the dogs 42 from the annular groove 43.

Vhen the dogs 42 are withdrawn from the groove 43 the valve carrying unit may be drawn through the tubing without the plunger liner, and the plunger linerl will gradually settle in the working barrel. However, it will assume a receptive position so that when the valve carrying unit is returned to the well it may readily enter and be clutched onto the liner by the spring actuated arms 35.

One of the principal advantages of the in-` vention resides in the largely increased pumping capacity of the plunge-r and in the provision of means whereby valves of unusually large diameter in comparison to the diameter of the tubing may be employed7 all of which is brought about by the more or less permanent location of the plunger liner below the tubing and in making it unnecessary to move the plunger liner through the tubing. The plunger liner is in fact substantially greater in diameter than the diameter of the tubing and on each-stroke pumps a substantial quantity o-f fluid to provide for maximum production.

The Working barrel 12 is arranged in spaced relation to the wall of the shell and cooperates with the shell in the formation of an annulars-and trap to receive the line floating sand which settles when the well is not in operation. This annular sand pocket or trap is of a very generous size and it is unnecessary to frequently pull'the tubing to remove the Asand from the pocket.

' Figure 3 illustrates that the standing valve 14 is permanently located beneath the tubing and is greater in diameter than the diameter of the tubing'. For a 2 tubing a 23/4 or a 3% inch standing valve may be used. Thus as much fluid may be admitted by the standing valve as the tubing is capable of conducting to the surface.

In summarizing it will be seen that the capacity of the pump is not in any Way restricted by the tubing and that reliable means are provided to prevent sand from settling on the working parts of the pump.

Particular attention is directed to Figure 3 which plainly illustrates that the standing valve 14 is provided with an attaching portion threaded into the bushing 8 to which the shell 7 is connected. The working barrel 12 completely surrounds the standing valve and is threaded into the bushing 8 adjacent the attaching nipple of the standing valve. The standing valve 12 is large enough to freely admit enough fluid to the working barrel to completely fill the wol-ls?,

ing barrel on each up stroke of the plunger notwithstanding the fact that the working barrel is substantially greater in diameter than the tubing.l As previously stated, the plunger which operates in the working barrel has a pumping capacity which approaches and which may even exceed the capacity of the tubing, and consequently maximum production of fluid and maximum efficiency of the tubing is brought about.

Having thus described the invent-ion, what is claimed is 1. The combination with a tubing, of' a liner permanently located beneath the tubing, the external diameter of the liner being greater than the internal diameter of the tubing, and a valve carrying unit detachably positioned in said liner and cooperating with the same in the formation of a plunger, said valve carrying unit being removable through the tubing.

2. The combination with a tubing, of a liner permanetly located beneath the tubing, the external diameter of the liner being greater than the internal diameter of the tubing, a valve carrying unit detachably positioned in said liner and co-operating with the same in the formation of a plunger, and means whereby to detachably clutch the liner onto the valve carrying unit, said valve carrying unit being removable through the tubing.

3. The combination with a tubing, yoi a liner located beneath the tubing, the exter nal diameter of the liner being greater than the internal diameter of the tubing, a valve carrying unit detachably positioned in said liner and co-operating with the same in the forma-tion of a plunger, and means whereby to detachably cluch the liner onto the valve carrying unit, said valve carrying unit consisting of the upper and lower valves arranged adjacent the ends of theI liner.

4. The combination with a tubing, of a liner permanently located beneath the tubing, a. valve carrying unit detachably positioned in said liner and co-operating with the same in the formation of a plunger, means whereby to detachably c-lutch the liner onto the valve carrying unit, said valve carrying unit consisting of upper and lower valves arranged adjacentthe ends of the liner, and a. working barrel receiving said plunger.

The combination with a tubing, of a liner permanently located beneath the tubing and being of a greater diameter than the tubing, a valve carrying unit detachably positioned in the liner, and a clutching device carried by said liner and engaging said valve carrying unit to detachably connect the valve carrying unit to the liner, said valve carrying unit being removable from said liner and being movable through the tubing independently of the liner.

6. The combination with a tubing, of a liner permanently located beneath the tubing, a valve carrying unit detachably posi- `tion ed in the liner, a clutching device carried by said liner and engaging said valve carrying unit to detachably lconnect the valve vcarrying unit to the liner, said valve carrying unit being removable from said liner and being movable through the tubing independently of the liner, and means arranged in the path of travel of the clutching device of said liner to release the clutching device from engagement with the valve carrying unit.

7. The combination with a tubing, of a liner permanently located beneath the tubing and being of a diameter greater than the diameter of the tubing, and a valve carrying unit detachably positioned in the liner and co-operating with the same in the formation of a plunger, said valve carrying unit consisting of upper and lower valve members and a rod connecting the valve members.

S. The combination of a shell, a worlc ing barrel positioned in the shell, a liner received in the Working barrel, a valve carrying unit adapted to be detachably positioned in the liner and co-operating with the liner in the formation of a plunger, said valve carrying unit consisting of upper and lower one-way valves and means connecting the one-way valves, and means for detachably clutching the liner onto the valve carrying unit, said valve carrying unit being movable through the tubing independently of the liner.

9. A pump comprising a liner, a valve carrying unit adapted to be positioned in the liner to co-operate with the liner in the formation of a plunger, said valve carrying unit consisting of upper and lower valve members, and means to detachably clutch the liner onto the valve carrying unit.

10. A pump comprising a liner, a valve carrying unit adapted to be positioned in the liner to co-operate with the liner in the formation of a plunger, said valve carrying unit consisting of upper and lower valve members, and means to detachably clutch the liner onto the valve carrying unit, there being a connector between the upper' and lower valve members.

11. A pump comprising a liner, a valve assembly detachably positioned in the liner and co-operating with the liner in the formation of a plunger, said valve assembly consisting of upper and lower one-way valves arranged adjacent the end of the liner, a clutching device for detachably connecting the valve assembly to the liner, and consisting of a plurality of spring actuated dogs, and means establishing a liquid tight connection between the liner and the one-way valves.

12. A pump comprising` a tubing, a shell secured to the tubing, a working barrel positioned in the shell and terminating below the upper end of 'he same, a liner positioned in the working barrel, a valve carrying unit detachably positioned in the liner and having valves arranged yadjacent the ends of the liner whereby to co-operate with the liner in the formation of a plunger, said valve carrying unit being provided with a recessed portion, pivoted arms having dogs adapted to be received in said recessed portion, and means connecting the shell to the tubing and arranged in the path of travel of said arms to swing the arms on their pivots and thereby release the dogs from engagement with the recessed portion of said valve carrying unit whereby to permit of the removal of the valve carrying unit tl'irough the tubing independently of the liner.

13. A pump for use in wells comprising a shell, an attaching bushing connected to the shell, a Working barrel arranged within the shell and co-operating with the same in the formation of a sand pocket, a liner positioned iu the working barrel and having an approximately tubular head, spring actuated arms carried by saidhead and having dogs, a valve carrying unit detachably arranged in said liner and co-operating with the same in the formation of a plunger, said valve carrying unit being provided with an annular grooveto receive said dogs,

the upper portiens of said arms being arranged in the path of travel of said bushing and actuated Athereby when the normal upward stroke of the plunger is exceeded.

JOHN PENROD. ROBERT D. THOMPSON. 

